One Hundred Dollars a Month - Page 1410 of 2143 - I am your typical housewife living in high maintenance suburbia. I have a handsome husband, 2 kids and a flock of pet chickens. I try and feed my family with $100 a month. With the help of coupons, gardening and bartering I am able to squeeze the most out of our grocery budget and still manage to have a little fun along the way.

Best Apple Varieties for Baking, Canning and Eating Fresh

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By Mavis Butterfield on November 10, 2013 · 19 Comments

Do you have more apples than you know what to do with right now? Need some ideas on how to bake ’em, can ’em, and which to just slice and eat fresh? Don’t have tons of apples, but want to bake ’em, can ’em and eat ’em anyway? No worries, it’s coming up on the end of apple season, so now is the time to scour farmer’s markets for awesome deals.

Baking Apples

Every apple variety has a different taste. Granny Smiths are awesome for pies, because they add a little tart to the sweet pastry– if you want to get crazy, mix them with sweeter Golden Delicious apples {in the same pie}, and you have found heaven, my friends.

{Rustic Apple Galette Recipe}

Rome, Braeburn, and Jonagold are also great for baking. They hold up well to heat, so they will keep their shape, and they taste great.

Canning Apples

If you want to put some apples up, apple sauce is super easy–the peeling is the worst part, and even that isn’t so bad if you invest in an apple peeler or a food mill {my preference}. Empress, Cortland, Gala, Jonagold, Braeburn, Golden Delicious, and Honeygolds are all great choices. I think the key to applesauce is to mix several different varieties. Make sure to get a mixture of sweet and tart.

Apples for Eating Fresh

Honestly, most apples fit in this category. I used to think Red Delicious apples were the bottom of the barrel–until I had one freshly picked from the tree. I am telling you, they taste nothing like the ones that sit in the grocery stores for months. They are awesome. A few of my personal favorites for slicing are: Pink Lady, Honeycrisp {there is a reason these are usually more expensive, they are the cream of the crop}, Gala, and Fuji’s. These ones are the best of both worlds, sweet and tart, crisp and delicious.

What varieties do YOU like to use?

~Mavis

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Mavis Butterfield | Backyard Garden Plot Pictures – Week 45 of 52

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By Mavis Butterfield on November 10, 2013 · 3 Comments

Backyard Garden Plot Pictures – Week 45 of 52

Now that things have slowed down and we are pretty much in maintenance mode with our garden, the garden chores pretty much revolve around keeping the backyard picked up in between windstorms and working on small repairs these days.

We had a stretch of sunny days this past week so every chance I had I peeled back the plastic layers on our little poly tunnel/greenhouse and let the sun shine down on our carrots. At night I pull the plastic back over the hoops and secure it in place. Once the rain starts though I doubt I’ll be doing this.

Thanks to a bunch of reader comments, I’m not freaking out anymore about our cabbage plants. I was thinking I’d have to harvest them all before the first frost, but apparently cabbage are pretty frost hardy so I can pick them at my leisure. Which makes me very happy. I was beginning to have visions of serving cabbage soup for weeks on end. 😉

A view from the back deck.

I keep thinking I am going to do something with this big barked area but I still have not figured out what, if anything I’m going to do with it. At times I’ve thought about installing more garden boxes or a giant pumpkin patch but I’m just not sure what to do. {and if I’ll have the time/energy to work on another large garden bed.}

The chicken coop.

We had to spread pine shavings around the coop this past week because everything was turning into one giant muddy mess. Which is a total pain of course when you go to collect eggs or feed the chickens. Yuck!

Yep, all the potatoes are still under the mounds. Maybe someday I’ll dig them up. 😉

And last but not least, the raspberry patch. I’ll need to go through and prune the dead canes pretty soon and clean the beds a little, but you know what? It’s too cold outside to do stuff like that right now. Or maybe it’s just that I would rather take a few weeks off from gardening and stay inside and bake cookies instead. Call me lazy, but I’m tired.

Have a great Sunday everyone. Stay warm. 🙂

~Mavis

This years garden is being sponsored by the awesome folks at Botanical Interests Seed Company. You can check out their website HERE, order their new 2013 Garden Seed Catalog HERE, or visit my online boyfriend Ryan’s blog HERE.

Up for a tour? Read about our behind the scenes tour of Botanical Interests Seed Company.

This post may contain affiliate links. These affiliate links help support this site. For more information, please see my disclosure policy. Thank you for supporting One Hundred Dollars a Month.

Recipes: The Best Muffin and Scone Recipes

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By Mavis Butterfield on November 10, 2013 · Leave a Comment

Breakfast foods make me happy. It might have something to do with the fact that breakfast pastries pair so well with my tea, but it also might be because they just taste so freakin awesome. Muffins and scones top my list.

Typically they aren’t very time consuming and the results are crumbly and delish. Plus you can switch up a muffin or scone recipe pretty easily and toss in all sorts of goodness. Experimenting with those recipes has lead to some of the most delicious pastries. Here are some of my favorites:

Rhubarb Walnut Muffins

Pumpkin Muffins with Oatmeal Streusel Topping

Raspberry Muffins with Crumb Topping

Pumpkin Spice Muffins

Blueberry Muffin with Crumb Topping

Poppy Seed Muffins

Spiced Pear Muffins with Crumb Topping

Strawberry Muffins with Oatmeal Crumb Topping

Raisin Bran Muffins

Cranberry Muffins

Sunday Brunch Recipe – Homemade Scones

Homemade Blueberry Scones

Find more Brunch Recipe Ideas HERE.

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Curried Beef and Apple Stew

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By Mavis Butterfield on November 9, 2013 · 4 Comments

There is nothing better than stew on a cold fall day, and this one is my new favorite. Have you ever added apples to your stew? This was my first time but it won’t be my last. This was unlike any stew I’ve ever made, and my whole family kept refilling their bowls. This is going in my permanent recipe book!

Ingredients

2 pounds beef stew, cut into 1 inch chunks {trim fat if necessary}
3 tart cooking apples, peeled, cored and chopped {I used Granny Smith apples}
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, cut into thin slices
1 teaspoon curry powder
4 cups chicken broth
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
3 carrots, chopped
1 acorn squash, peeled, seeded, and cubed {2 cups}
1 tablespoon fresh parsley for garnish

Directions

Over medium-high heat, add oil to a Dutch oven. Add the beef chunks in a single layer, and brown on all sides {I did 2 rounds to get them all browned}. Return all beef to pan and add apples, onion, and curry powder. Cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Add broth, and salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer, covered, for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add carrots and return to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add squash to pan. Cover and cook an additional 10 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Garnish with parsley and serve.

Looking for more great stew recipes?

Soups, Stews & Chilis by the folks at Cooks Illustrated is jam packed with great recipes.

This post may contain affiliate links. These affiliate links help support this site. For more information, please see my disclosure policy. Thank you for supporting One Hundred Dollars a Month.